Many homes in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas depend on heat pumps for year-round comfort. With cooler temperatures approaching, it’s a good time to prepare your heat pump for making the switch between cooling and heating your home. Rusk Heating and Cooling shares regular heat pump maintenance tips to help you keep your equipment in top shape!

1. Schedule a Fall Heating Tune Up

While air conditioners and furnaces only require one maintenance tune up per year, heat pumps require two annual tune ups. This is because the system functions to deliver both heating and cooling for the home. It’s recommended to schedule one tune up in the spring to prepare for cooling season, and another in the fall to get ready for heating season. Scheduling a fall tune up is definitely at the top of our list of routine heat pump maintenance tips!

Having your home’s heat pump professionally maintained and tuned up twice per year will help ensure reliable, energy-efficient performance no matter the season. The services performed during a heating tune up help all parts operate at their best going into heating season, remedying wear and tear caused over the course of summer cooling. A fall tune up also provides the opportunity for a trained technician to catch any performance faults or system malfunctions and perform repairs now so the system is ready to work properly when you are ready for heat – this means lower energy bills, fewer repair calls, and you’re less likely to experience a surprise HVAC system breakdown come cold weather.

Contact Rusk to ensure you have a well-maintained heat pump for the upcoming heating season.

2. Clean the Outdoor Unit

Caring for the outdoor unit is a must on our list of heat pump maintenance tips. In the winter, the heat pump extracts heat energy from the outdoor air, transferring it indoors to heat your home. If the unit is blocked by debris, there won’t be enough airflow through the heat pump to allow the unit to capture enough energy for adequate heating.

  • Use a soft brush or garden hose to clean away debris stuck to the exterior fins of the heat pump, like leaves, grass clippings, mulch, small twigs, and other natural particles.
  • Pull weeds and other plants growing up around the unit.
  • Prune nearby shrubs and bushes to leave at least two feet of space clear on all sides of the heat pump.
  • Don’t store outdoor furniture, grills, and other items up against the heat pump for the season – leave two feet of space on all sides.

3. Replace the Air Filter

Heat pumps are forced air heating systems, meaning they heat air then distribute it across the home. These systems, like furnaces and air conditioners, use an air filter to remove pollutant particles from the air supply. The filter captures these particles so they don’t move into the indoor unit, where they can settle and build up, causing damage or diminished system performance.

Replacing the air filter is one of the most important maintenance tips you should perform to prepare the system for heating season. With a new filter installed, your system will be able to extract contaminants as air moves through for heating. With heating and cooling systems seeing less use during the mild fall season, it’s the right time of year to put in a new filter so your heat pump is ready to go once you start using it heavily for winter.

Contact Rusk for Heat Pump Preventative Maintenance Services

The heat pump maintenance tips above will help you get your heat pump in top shape for the coming heating season. Call Rusk Heating and Cooling today to schedule your annual heating maintenance tune up and get your heat pump ready for winter!